GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
Can play resume after a scoring error is found at an apparent cricket finish?
Sometimes. If umpires find a result-affecting scoring mistake after the players and umpires leave believing the match has ended, Law 16.9 can require a resumption before the scores are finally agreed. The last batting side must still have an unfinished innings, and, at the original call of Time, either required overs were incomplete or applicable playing time remained. The side must not have conceded defeat, and conditions must permit play. Overs and time are measured from that original call; the gap before resumption is ignored. If the last innings was complete, or the overs were complete and no playing time remained, the umpires notify both captains of corrections instead. Once umpires and scorers agree the correct final scores, the result cannot be changed. This describes the MCC Laws of Cricket, 2017 Code, fourth edition (2026), effective 1 October 2026. That date does not establish that every clause is new or that a particular competition has adopted it; check the competition’s Playing Conditions.
For Scorers, players and viewers learning why an apparent finish may require correction. · Updated
Resumption depends on the innings, overs and time
The rule is narrow: umpires must discover an error in scoring that affects the result after everyone has left in the belief that the match concluded. For resumption, the side batting last must not have completed its innings, and either the required overs for the Last hour or innings remain incomplete, or the agreed time for close of play or the innings has not yet been reached at the call of Time. If a side concedes defeat, play does not resume.
If those conditions call for play and conditions permit, the umpires order a resumption. Unless a result is reached sooner, play continues until the applicable required overs and time are complete. Remaining overs and time are those at the original call of Time; the interval before play resumes does not count.
Some score errors are corrected without more play
If, at the original call of Time, the required overs were complete and no playing time remained, or the side batting last had completed its innings, the umpires immediately tell both captains the necessary score and result corrections. This branch does not reopen play.
The agreed final result cannot later be changed
Umpires are responsible for the correctness of scores, with scorers checking and agreeing the record with them. Once the umpires and scorers have agreed the correct scores at the conclusion of the match, Law 16.10 prevents a later change to the result. An apparent finish before that agreement is different from a final agreed score.
A fictional score error before final agreement
Assume a fictional match uses this MCC edition without a relevant Playing Condition change. After the players and umpires leave believing the match has ended, they find a one-run scoring omission that could affect the result. The last innings is still unfinished, the agreed close-of-play time had not been reached at the original call of Time, no side conceded defeat, and conditions permit play. The umpires order resumption using the overs and time that remained at that original call, without counting the gap. In a separate hypothetical, if the last innings were complete—or the required overs were complete and no time remained—the umpires would notify both captains of the correction instead. After final score agreement with the scorers, the result cannot be changed.
Related questions
Does every scoring error after players leave restart the match?
No. The last innings must be unfinished and the overs-or-time condition must be met at the original call of Time; the concession and playing-conditions rules also matter.
Can the result change after umpires and scorers agree the final scores?
No. Once they agree the correct scores at the conclusion, Law 16.10 bars a later change to the result.